Man has worn
leather since the beginning of recorded history. Thousands of our ancestors were
employed in the trade. Hats, gloves, shoes, boots, jackets, jerkins and trousers
were popularly made of leather, particularly from medieval times until the 19th
century. There was also a huge demand for riding and farming equipment made from
the material. The trade changed with the arrival of synthetic fabrics and the
decline of horse transport, but leather is still important in the luxury market
today. Craftsmen developed skills associated with different aspects of the
trade. Some still exist today, such as those of the tanner, cobbler and saddler.
Other skills, such as those of the cordwainer and currier, do not. For many
years they were all interlinked, each craftsman dependent on the skills of the
others for his living.

The trade of
currying was a vital part of the early leather industry. Currying was the name
given to the process of stretching and finishing tanned leather, thus, rendering
it supple and strong for the use of a saddler or cobbler.

The name currier is
believed to be taken from the Latin term "corium". The corium is the
central skin layer between the outer epidermis and the flesh underneath, made up
of a complex series of fibres. The make up of this layer dictates the difference
in texture between leathers.

Traditionally,
animal skins were cured by treating them with animal fat. This stage was
followed by leaving them stretched out to dry, either in the sun or before a
fire. In Britain, due to the climate, the skin was normally dried in front of a
fire. This basic system was in use thousands of years before Christ and was
still used on buffalo skins by North American Indians in the late 1800’s.
Medieval Europeans improved upon these methods and those tradesmen skilled in
the methods of making skins into a flexible, durable material, grew in
importance.

To understand the
role performed by the currier, it is necessary to look at the earlier stages in
the leather-making process. An animal skin was first delivered to a tannery,
generally located in a town. There it was soaked and cleaned of any remnants of
animal tissue. The skin then underwent the "liming" procedure, where
it was repeatedly washed and left in a solution of quick lime to increase
absorbency. After being cut to a suitable size, the skin was placed in
successive tanks of progressively stronger tanning solution. The solution used
for tanning was traditionally made from oak bark.

The unfinished
leather now passed to the currier, whose craft was to transform the stiff
material into a pliant, workable material for the final craftsman to transform
into the finished product. Curriers were found in many villages, indeed
sometimes the currier was also the local shoemaker.

The art of currying
leather was hard manual labour, needing great skill and a range of special hand
tools. The currier worked on a variety of hides, principally ox, cow, calf,
goat, sheep, pig and deer. He may have occasionally dressed squirrel and rabbit.
For centuries he crafted the buff jerkin worn by soldiers from the hide of the
European buffalo - hence the term "Buff".

The hide was first
stretched on a variety of different frames, depending on the type of leather to
be curried. The currier would gradually tighten the frame, notch by notch, from
every direction until satisfied that the hide was as taut as possible. Another
method of stretching the skin was by using an implement resembling a mangle or
rack, where a handle was turned, gradually tightening the material.

Once stretched, the
tanned leather was washed and scrubbed. This part of the process was demanding
physical labour which softened the skin. The currier then went to work with a
"sleeker", a short bladed knife. The sleeker forced the remaining
tanning fluid from the hide. The skin was then ready to be dressed, to make it
smooth, waterproof, strong and flexible.

The inner side of
the skin was made more even by the use of a currying knife. The blade of this
knife ran at right angles to the handle, thus enabling it to be worked like a
wood plane, shaving the surface of the leather. This part of the process called
for great skill and judgement. Too steep a cut could render a valuable hide
worthless.

The currying knife
was also used for the delicate task of splitting the leather into different
widths. Of course, the thickness required was dictated by the purpose for which
the leather was intended. The more supple split leather was used for the uppers
of shoes and boots. The heavier leather from the "butt" or backbone of
the skin was used for soles.

Once it had been
trimmed to a suitable size and thickness, the currier actually carried out the
process of currying. That is, massaging into the leather equal quantities of
beef tallow and cod liver oil. Once curried, leather could be used for a wider
range of purposes, and also stained or dyed. British curriers’ work was held
in high esteem throughout Europe.

Like most rural
trades, currying often became a family tradition with skills passed from father
to son. The finished product was frequently taken by other members of the
family, living in the same village, for crafting into shoes, gloves, belts or
some such.

The craft was
practised in villages across the whole of Britain. When an ancestor is found
showing his trade as currier in a census return, it is likely that other family
members will be engaged in the leather trade. Although places like Glastonbury
in Somerset and the Northampton area developed into centres of the leather
industry, smaller cottage leather treatment works could be found across the
length and breadth of the country.

In London, at the
end of the 16th century, there was a Currier’s Lane off Fleet Street, another
off Bristol Street and a Currier’s Arms Inn Yard in Goswell Street. The
majority of London curriers appear to have resided in the Farringdon Road and
Fleet Street area.

It was necessary to
serve a seven year apprenticeship before following the trade. The apprentice
currier was bound similarly to those in other professions. It was stated that,
Until a man grows unto the age of 23 years, he has not grown unto the full
knowledge of the trade he professes. The apprentice lived with the family, being
fed, housed and clothed by his master. He could not qualify until submitting a
proof-piece of his work for inspection. Many of the apprenticeship records
survive today, providing records of both master and apprentice curriers.

The earliest record
of currying in England is in the City of London Coroner’s Roll for 9 February
1276. This covers an inquest into the death of a currier’s wife living off
Newgate Street, London. She apparently died as a result of a broken leg after
falling down drunk in the street!

By the 14th
century, curriers were men of importance, but had no independent trade guild.
Their prosperity was due in part to the demand for leather from soldiers engaged
in wars with France and Scotland. Leather was used to link plates of armour, as
well as for items of soldier’s clothing.

The earliest rules
of the trade were recorded in 1300. These laid down the maximum prices a currier
could charge a skinner for the dressing of skins. Four "searchers"
were empowered to enforce these rules, one of whom was a currier. Any currier
charging too much would have a fine imposed by these four men, according to the
degree of transgression. As an example, the currier could not take more than 7d
for dressing the skins of a hundred "scrimpyns" (a skin of inferior
quality to that of the rabbit).

In 1485, during the
reign of Henry VII, further laws for the trade were laid down. Leather
discovered improperly "tanned, sealed and curried", could result in
the currier facing five days in jail and a 20 shilling fine - 10s for the King
and 10s to the wronged party. If a currier should carry out the tanning of a
skin, he faced a fine of 6s 8d for each skin so treated.

In 1559, parliament
passed an Act effecting the leather industry, designed to improve standards and
stop some improper practices. Curriers were forbidden the use of "stale
uryne or any other deceipfull or subtill mixture" to cure hides. No leather
was to be stripped too thinly or sold with a blemish. Fines and forfeits were
entered on the statute book.

The curriers had to
wait until 1583 before they were granted arms, which, not surprisingly, featured
the curry knife as the centrepiece. Then, in the 17th century, James I
incorporated the Currier’s Guild. This gave the trade powers of search and
inspection within the City of London, thus enabling it to enforce craft
standards.

The curriers formed
their own City of London Livery Company. The original charter, dating from 30
April 1605, is preserved at Guildhall. This lays down rules and regulations for
curriers belonging to the Livery Company, including such statutes as a
"fine of 4d a day with meat and drink from the Master, if a Journeyman be
unemployed through the Master’s default" and a fine of 6d for the
journeyman if he should absent himself from work. The charters, books and
records of the company, appertaining to London curriers, were deposited with
Guildhall Library for safekeeping in 1950.

The company
published bye-laws on 4 June 1605. These imposed fines for poor workmanship, and
standardised regulations for premises where currying may be carried out. They
should be "fitting and convenient for the use of the said art." Work
on leather had to cease at noon on Saturday and the afternoon had to be employed
in cleaning houses, sharpening tools and "grayning and shaving of boote
legges against the next working day".

The early history
of the curriers can be researched at Guildhall Library, the Public Records
Office and the British Museum. Names are listed in letterbooks, journals,
coroner’s rolls, Plea and Memoranda Rolls, Wills of the Court of Husting and
Court Minutes of the Livery Company.

The trade steadily
declined in the early part of this century. In Suffolk, for example, White’s
Directory listed 40 curriers working in 1844. By 1922 only eight remained. At
the start of the Second World War there were none.

The process of
currying still takes place today. Leather still needs to be supple, durable and
the right texture for the finishing process. However, today currying has been
largely incorporated into the tanning stage and no separate trade exists. The
heavy physical task of treating the skin is now carried out by machine, except
in the case of certain high value goods, which are still hand finished.
Generally speaking, the arrival of the machine age effectively killed off the
trade.